Visitors4 in Santorini - A Stress Free, Fun and Memorable Day

[Visitors4]

We were in Santorini in early September 2022. There were 6 other ships in port and most arriving at the same time. It was our first time in this port and we knew we wanted to visit Oia and then Fira for the sunset. We were fortunate our ship was in port 8 AM - 10 PM. We knew the usual options to get to the two towns and knew that those options would likely entail long waits and large crowds.

 

Here is how we did our day in Santorini - 

• We purchased ship shore excursion "Oia on Your Own", which included bus transportation directly to Oia. The shore excursion took us via tender to Athinios Port (the new Port). A bus picked us up there and drove directly to Oia. Upon arriving at Oia, we informed our guide that we would not be returning back to the ship with the 3 hour shore excursion, and that we would be spending the day in Oia and have arranged for transportation back to Fira and the Old Port (where the tenders back to the ship were running throughout the day). She noted our cabin #s and we were on our own! We arranged with the company, Welcome Pickups, for transportation to Fira.
• In Oia, it was very crowded, but since we had time, we were able to let crowds ease up as needed and continue our visit. It is the most beautiful town, and every corner and step, revealed a most amazing view. We stopped at Terpsi n Oia for coffee - go up to the open air top level for the most wonderful views of the caldera. 
• We had lunch reservations at Ammoudi Fish Tavern, which meant we had to walk down the approximate 300 steps to Ammoudi Bay. It is doable as long as you are careful, take your time and wear sturdy shoes. We did not have to walk back up because we had transportation arranged with Welcome Pickups right near the restaurant to take us to Fira. We dined on the upper open air level of the restaurant, and we had beautiful views of the bay and all its activities. Food and cocktails were average, but the views were well worth it! We could have sat there for hours if we had time.
• Our car transportation took us to Fira where we did some shopping and then headed to PK Cocktail Bar where we had reservation for sunset cocktails. Cocktails were great and vibe was fun, and we had center seats to the best show in town - a Santorini sunset. We didn't wait until the sun was fully set because that would mean possible crowds at the cable car to go down to Fira Old Port (where the tenders back to our ship were). We left about half way through the sunset and there was zero wait and zero crowds at the cable car. You can also see the sunset as the cable car descended down.
• We made it back to the ship around 8:30 PM and had time for a light dinner at Luminae! 

 

If you only have a few hours in port in Santorini, my suggestion is to take a shore excursion. It saves the stress and your precious time from waiting for cable cars or walking up the many steps to Fira. If you're planning to visit Oia from Fira on your own, you can hike to Oia which takes 3-5 hours, or take the local bus which may mean more waiting and crowds. Closing Thoughts - Reserve early especially at popular spots like PK Cocktail Bar. Oia is definitely more beautiful than Fira, and in our opinion, don't just visit Fira; get out to the other surrounding towns. Ammoudi Bay is worth the visit. We had walking sticks which helped with the many up and down steps (these walking sticks are also helpful when visiting Ephesus, Acropolis). The car transportation and shore excursion costs may be pricey - total about $200 for 4 people - and it enabled us to have a full, independent, stress-free, relaxing day in Santorini! If your ship has a full day in Santorini like our ship did, do make the most of it! 

[Wishing on a star]

Thank You!

That sounds wonderful.

You have just validated my thoughts about planning a trip to Santorini.

I beleive some ships also offer return from Althinios.  But, that might be ONLY if you complete the excursion and return to the ship with your group.

A bonus, though, is that we will be there early in the season, and might be the only ship there!

[Wishing on a star]

How was your experience with Welcome Pickups?

We are considering them, or Golden Ibex, for tours.

And, either Welcome Pickups or the iMove app for Mykonos.

[VitaminSea53]

I was wondering that as well.  How was your experience with Welcome Pickups?

[Visitors4]

We used Welcome Pickups once for our pickup at Ammoudi Bay to Fira. The driver was on-time and friendly. He contacted us to let us know where we should meet him. The experience was stress-free and met our needs. We were 4 people and he had a van. It wasn't luxury or new, but it was fine for us and served it's purpose for the short ride. I would use the company again based on this one experience. 

[VitaminSea53]

Thanks!

[fishiecrackers]

Love the idea of using Welcome Pickups to pick up from Ammoudi Bay! But a little stressed at choosing a transport time without ever having been there. How many hours did you stay in Oia? We are in port from 7am-8pm and using the "On Your Own" ship excursion to get us to Oia as well. 

[Visitors4]

We stayed in Oia about 6 hours - arrived around 9:30-10:00 AM and picked up at Ammoudi Bay around 4:30 PM. Aside from the shops and restaurants, it was exploring the town's side alleys, walking up and down the many steps to get to scenic view spots, lots of photos and just taking in the Santorini experience. Depends what you are planning to do. We were at Ammoudi Fish Tavern for about 2 hours (reservation was for 2:30 PM), and our car pickup was right after that. If you plan to visit the Castle of Oia, do that before heading down to the Bay since the Castle is right by the steps.  It took us about 20-25 minutes to slowly walk down the steps. Also for us, the Castle was not crowded when we went in early afternoon, as many tour groups had already gone thru Oia in the morning. It's a short drive back to Fira. With your ship departing at 8 PM, you may not have the time to view the sunset from land. In my opinion, after visiting Oia, one doesn't really need to spend much time in Fira. Suggestion - map out in advance the spots in Oia that you would like to stop at (even if just for photo op). Doing this gave us a direction to walk towards while on the way, coming upon other amazing, beautiful spots! We truly had a most wonderful day in Santorini being on our own and at our own pace!

[fishiecrackers]

2 hours ago, Visitors4 said:

We stayed in Oia about 6 hours - arrived around 9:30-10:00 AM and picked up at Ammoudi Bay around 4:30 PM. Aside from the shops and restaurants, it was exploring the town's side alleys, walking up and down the many steps to get to scenic view spots, lots of photos and just taking in the Santorini experience. Depends what you are planning to do. We were at Ammoudi Fish Tavern for about 2 hours (reservation was for 2:30 PM), and our car pickup was right after that. If you plan to visit the Castle of Oia, do that before heading down to the Bay since the Castle is right by the steps.  It took us about 20-25 minutes to slowly walk down the steps. Also for us, the Castle was not crowded when we went in early afternoon, as many tour groups had already gone thru Oia in the morning. It's a short drive back to Fira. With your ship departing at 8 PM, you may not have the time to view the sunset from land. In my opinion, after visiting Oia, one doesn't really need to spend much time in Fira. Suggestion - map out in advance the spots in Oia that you would like to stop at (even if just for photo op). Doing this gave us a direction to walk towards while on the way, coming upon other amazing, beautiful spots! We truly had a most wonderful day in Santorini being on our own and at our own pace!

Thanks for the info! Sounds like such a great day. Would you be willing to share the spots you chose? Would love a starting off point for my planning of that Oia day!

[g8way2go]

The ship shore excursion "Oia on Your Own" had a warning for those who suffer from motion sickness.  Did you find this a difficult bus ride?  

 

[Visitors4]

Hi "g8way2go" - we were in a typical large coach bus and don't recall anything noticeable causing motion sickness in the ride for us. We sat around the middle of bus near the back door. Part of the ride in the beginning is going uphill, and there are some switchbacks, but after that it's a normal road to Oia. 

[Visitors4]

Hi "fishiecrackers" - we started at the Church of Panagia which is where our shore excursion guide led our group to. It was a good spot to start as it was the beginning point of the main street thru town - Nikolaou Nomikou Street. That street leads you to the Castle of Oia and the steps to Ammoudi Bay. Note - outside of restaurants, spots to sit and rest are not many. There are two spots that have some sort of "seating". The Castle of Oia's ledges along the along its wall. Walk down the short tunnel-like alley facing Atlantis Books, and if available, there are a couple small benches and the alley is covered; was a nice cool spot to rest briefly and people watch! 

 

We had stops planned, but having experienced Oia, suggest just taking in all the amazing, scenic views at all angles. From that, we saw all the famous photographed spots. Whatever you may come upon that interests, stop and check out. Explore the side alleys. Do recommend the Windmills area - off the main street and with views of the Castle and Ammoudi Bay. 

[ingrid.versnel]

Thanks for the detailed information. It is very helpful.

[KiwiGal117]

Hi Visitors4:

 

Do you happen to know if the Welcome Pickups people would have been able to take you back to the new port?  I have heard there are taxis there, but cruise ships seem to only transport excursion passengers there.  I just wondered if you are on the excursion in the morning, could you be dropped back there (thereby avoiding the cable car) at the end of the day for the return tender?  Thank you for a very helpful post!

[Visitors4]

Hi Kiwigal117 - the return tenders are only at the old port - at the bottom of the cable car in Fira. So you will need to be dropped off in Fira to pick-up the cable car down to where the tenders are. 

 

 

[budmeister]

On 2/4/2023 at 2:19 PM, Visitors4 said:

We were in Santorini in early September 2022. There were 6 other ships in port and most arriving at the same time. It was our first time in this port and we knew we wanted to visit Oia and then Fira for the sunset. We were fortunate our ship was in port 8 AM - 10 PM. We knew the usual options to get to the two towns and knew that those options would likely entail long waits and large crowds.

 

Here is how we did our day in Santorini - 

• We purchased ship shore excursion "Oia on Your Own", which included bus transportation directly to Oia. The shore excursion took us via tender to Athinios Port (the new Port). A bus picked us up there and drove directly to Oia. Upon arriving at Oia, we informed our guide that we would not be returning back to the ship with the 3 hour shore excursion, and that we would be spending the day in Oia and have arranged for transportation back to Fira and the Old Port (where the tenders back to the ship were running throughout the day). She noted our cabin #s and we were on our own! We arranged with the company, Welcome Pickups, for transportation to Fira.
• In Oia, it was very crowded, but since we had time, we were able to let crowds ease up as needed and continue our visit. It is the most beautiful town, and every corner and step, revealed a most amazing view. We stopped at Terpsi n Oia for coffee - go up to the open air top level for the most wonderful views of the caldera. 
• We had lunch reservations at Ammoudi Fish Tavern, which meant we had to walk down the approximate 300 steps to Ammoudi Bay. It is doable as long as you are careful, take your time and wear sturdy shoes. We did not have to walk back up because we had transportation arranged with Welcome Pickups right near the restaurant to take us to Fira. We dined on the upper open air level of the restaurant, and we had beautiful views of the bay and all its activities. Food and cocktails were average, but the views were well worth it! We could have sat there for hours if we had time.
• Our car transportation took us to Fira where we did some shopping and then headed to PK Cocktail Bar where we had reservation for sunset cocktails. Cocktails were great and vibe was fun, and we had center seats to the best show in town - a Santorini sunset. We didn't wait until the sun was fully set because that would mean possible crowds at the cable car to go down to Fira Old Port (where the tenders back to our ship were). We left about half way through the sunset and there was zero wait and zero crowds at the cable car. You can also see the sunset as the cable car descended down.
• We made it back to the ship around 8:30 PM and had time for a light dinner at Luminae! 

 

If you only have a few hours in port in Santorini, my suggestion is to take a shore excursion. It saves the stress and your precious time from waiting for cable cars or walking up the many steps to Fira. If you're planning to visit Oia from Fira on your own, you can hike to Oia which takes 3-5 hours, or take the local bus which may mean more waiting and crowds. Closing Thoughts - Reserve early especially at popular spots like PK Cocktail Bar. Oia is definitely more beautiful than Fira, and in our opinion, don't just visit Fira; get out to the other surrounding towns. Ammoudi Bay is worth the visit. We had walking sticks which helped with the many up and down steps (these walking sticks are also helpful when visiting Ephesus, Acropolis). The car transportation and shore excursion costs may be pricey - total about $200 for 4 people - and it enabled us to have a full, independent, stress-free, relaxing day in Santorini! If your ship has a full day in Santorini like our ship did, do make the most of it! 

Hi,

 

Thanks for your information! We will be there this Sept., and there will be 6 ships in port.

 

How long did it take you to get to Oia from the excursion time start? I booked that too, just to get there. I was trying to take an excursion from Oia at 9:15 am, and reluctantly decided I could not be sure to make it. 

 

About what time did you take the cable cars that the line was not too long? Our ship is in til 10:00pm , I expect all-aboard at 9, and  I aim for 8:00 pm. 

 

Would you think it would be worth it crowd-wise and scenery -wise to take welcome -pickup to Oia  at about 4 there and 6 back to the cable cars? I don't care about shopping, I wonder if seeing and the views are worthy of the quick trip there and back, and if it will be unwalkable due to crowds there by 4pm ish.

 

I can do that, or just skip seeing Oia, as  I am taking an excursion til 3:30 pm. I would like to wait and see, but I expect same day reservations will likely be unavailable.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Visitors4]

On 7/13/2023 at 1:21 PM, budmeister said:

Hi,

 

Thanks for your information! We will be there this Sept., and there will be 6 ships in port.

 

How long did it take you to get to Oia from the excursion time start? I booked that too, just to get there. I was trying to take an excursion from Oia at 9:15 am, and reluctantly decided I could not be sure to make it. 

 

About what time did you take the cable cars that the line was not too long? Our ship is in til 10:00pm , I expect all-aboard at 9, and  I aim for 8:00 pm. 

 

Would you think it would be worth it crowd-wise and scenery -wise to take welcome -pickup to Oia  at about 4 there and 6 back to the cable cars? I don't care about shopping, I wonder if seeing and the views are worthy of the quick trip there and back, and if it will be unwalkable due to crowds there by 4pm ish.

 

I can do that, or just skip seeing Oia, as  I am taking an excursion til 3:30 pm. I would like to wait and see, but I expect same day reservations will likely be unavailable.

 

Thanks for your thoughts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi, our ship arrived in Santorini at 8:00 AM. The ship excursion to Oia included the tender to Santorini's new port, Athinios, and then the bus to Oia. Can't remember when our excursion left the ship; we arrived in Oia close to 10:00 AM. We left Fira about 7:30 PM before sunset was complete. There was no cable car line and we saw rest of sunset from the cable car.The tender also had no line, waited a bit for tender to fill up and we were back on the ship by 8:30 PM. We left before sunset was done because our thought was that after sunset, there may be more people waiting for the cable cars.

 

For us, Oia was much more beautiful and scenic than Fira and definitely worth the visit. Oia was very crowded in the morning to early afternoon hours since that's when ships arrive. If your ship is one of the few staying until late night, then a late afternoon visit to Oia may be doable. 

 

Have a great time!

[budmeister]

15 hours ago, Visitors4 said:

Hi, our ship arrived in Santorini at 8:00 AM. The ship excursion to Oia included the tender to Santorini's new port, Athinios, and then the bus to Oia. Can't remember when our excursion left the ship; we arrived in Oia close to 10:00 AM. We left Fira about 7:30 PM before sunset was complete. There was no cable car line and we saw rest of sunset from the cable car.The tender also had no line, waited a bit for tender to fill up and we were back on the ship by 8:30 PM. We left before sunset was done because our thought was that after sunset, there may be more people waiting for the cable cars.

 

For us, Oia was much more beautiful and scenic than Fira and definitely worth the visit. Oia was very crowded in the morning to early afternoon hours since that's when ships arrive. If your ship is one of the few staying until late night, then a late afternoon visit to Oia may be doable. 

 

Have a great time!

Thank you! That s very helpful!

[judydan]

What level do you recommend  at  PK COCKTAIL BAR?